Privacy Groups File Complaint to EU over Facial Recognition Technology

The operations of an internet corporation that has constructed a strong facial recognition database using photographs "scraped" from the web have been brought to the attention of regulators in five European nations, including France.

According to Privacy International, the usage of pictures - including those from people's social media accounts - by tech startup Clearview AI to provide biometrics services to private firms and government enforcement "goes far beyond what we could ever expect as internet users."

Although Clearview promotes its technology's ability to assist law enforcement, detractors argue that facial recognition is vulnerable to abuse and might eventually eradicate anonymity in public settings, citing examples such as China's large public surveillance system.

Facial recognition has also been chastised for failing to discern the faces of non-white persons and women as well as white, male photos, perhaps leading to false positives.